THE managing director of Persimmon Homes says that a 28 per cent increase in the number of house completions in the first six months of the year is fuelling further employment opportunities across the region.

Carl Haley, Managing Director of Yate-based Persimmon Homes Severn Valley today welcomed news that the business legally completed 6,408 new homes in the first six months of 2014, a 28 per cent increase on the same period last year, when the housebuilder completed 5,022 new homes.

“Every extra home we build leads to more employment, both directly at Persimmon Homes Severn Valley as well as with our diverse range of suppliers across the region,” said Carl.

“We have a robust recruitment programme in place to bring new people into the business, whether it’s trained professionals or apprentices and trainees. Since January we have had 16 new people join the company and with the second half of 2014 set to be just as busy as the first half, we are looking forward to welcoming more new people to the business in the coming weeks.”

Total revenues have increased for Persimmon by 33 per cent to £1.2 billion, compared to £0.9 billion for the same period in 2013.

Persimmon will open 100 new sites in the second half of 2014 across England, Wales and Scotland. In Bristol, Gloucestershire and North Somerset, the business is set to start building at the former GCHQ headquarters in Cheltenham, Bishops Sutton in the Chew Valley, Bishops Cleeve and Lyde Green Village, Emerson’s Green in Bristol, including a new phase at Haywood Village, Weston-super-Mare.

Carl said the company was now turning its attention to the second half of the year: “Everybody knows that there is a shortage of new housing and we’re working hard to deliver homes into the communities where they are most needed. I’d like to take this opportunity to thank local people for their continued support, which we aim to repay by creating new jobs and driving the local economy forward.”